The Standardbred world knows Homicide Hunter as a record-breaker. The fastest trotter in history. A horse who stopped the clock in 1:48.4 at The Red Mile and earned more than $1.7 million on the racetrack. Now, the 14-year-old trotter is proving to be a star in the show ring.

Homicide Hunter, owned by Crawford Farms Racing of Syracuse, New York, headlines the roster of MMXX Standardbreds, a non-profit Standardbred show team and aftercare initiative reshaping what life after racing looks like for Standardbreds.

This year is Homicide Hunter's second year competing in the show ring following his retirement from racing in June 2020. The gelding showed at approximately 20 events in 2025 and was named Horse of the Year via the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization's United States award system. The title is given to the highest pointed Standardbred in the show ring in the U.S. for a given year.

Homicide Hunter is now preparing for the 2026 show season and is scheduled to compete under saddle at the PtHA World Championships, organized by the Pinto Horse Association, next month in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The PtHA World Championships is a predominantly Quarter Horse-driven event that's open to all breeds where the best of the best in the world compete for titles in the show ring. In April, American Quarter Horse Association Judge Thomas Lamson gave words of encouragement regarding Homicide Hunter's participation: “As someone who works with stock breeds, I can say Homicide Hunter was truly a pleasure to watch and one I would be proud to have in my own [show] program.”

Homicide Hunter will be competing on June 10 in the Youth English Pleasure Championship under 11-year-old rider Chase DesRochers of Ludlow, Massachusetts, and on June 11 in the English Pleasure Championship and Ideal Championship under rider Grace Glasko of Chepachet, Rhode Island. (Ideal is a two-part class; the first part is ridden and the second part the horse is lined up and judged by its conformation).

“He’s just so special,” said Michelle Panebianco, of Crawford Farms Racing, who has remained a consistent supporter of MMXX Standardbreds from the beginning through the placement of Crawford Farms retirees and ongoing charitable contributions by Deja Blu Stables. "On the racetrack, he was defined by speed and straight lines. In the show ring, success demands something entirely different: rhythm, softness, adjustability and expression. His transition highlights a truth that MMXX Standardbreds is working to bring into the mainstream."

Founded by Molly D’Agostino in 2020, MMXX Standardbreds facilitates direct, vetted adoptions from racing owners and trainers to riding homes, at no cost to the connections. The program has completed 400 adoptions in two and a half years.

Unlike many breeds, Standardbreds arrive at retirement from racing with a foundation most sport horses never receive. They are broke, conditioned, usually traffic-safe and accustomed to structured training environments. The racing foundation has quietly made them one of the most accessible and beginner-friendly riding horses in the industry. MMXX creates a pathway for horses that are suitable for immediate transition into riding homes. 

Homicide Hunter winning the Allerage Open Trot in a world record 1:48.4 on Oct. 6, 2018 at The Red Mile during his racing career.

The MMXX Standardbreds show roster also includes Fox Valley Photog, Bandini, Mac Shamus, Nutmegs Hot Rod and Monticello.

For more information about the MMXX Standardbreds, check out the TROT Magazine's September 2025 feature story, "MMXX Standardbreds: Proving Our Breed Can Be Champions Off The Track Too."

(With files from MMXX Standardbreds)